An explanation of six different forms of quote memorization strategies, though these strategies are useful for memorizing anything these strategies are here applied to Quotations necessary to recall correctly during English exams.

1. Quote Memorisation & Revision
Strategies for Exam Preparation.
Learning Intention: I will apply memorisation strategies to quotations from key texts in
preparation to exams.
Success Criteria: I will be able to narrow down the six strategies to those that I am most able to
use effectively and that connect with me personally.

2. 6 strategies for Memorising Quotations
1.Songs
2.Acronyms
3.Rote / Repetition
4.Narrative
5.Imagery
6.“Memory Palace”

3. The core concept of memory
and memorisation.
• The brain is mostly associative which
means that every new experience is
remembered better if it can be
associated with previous experiences
in the long-term memory.
• Each of the strategies provided are
different ways for you to process the
information you are trying to recall and
to make different associations between
content you are trying to learn and
content you already know well.

4. Songs
Benefits: Builds on existing knowledge, if it is a catchy song it will be placed along
well used neural pathways.
Drawbacks: You may only remember the songs original lyrics, only quotes with a
nice rhythm are suitable for this.
Good for: people who like catchy, poppy songs. Anyone musical or lyric focussed.

5. Either assign a letter to every word in the quote,
or only the key words as shown here.
CGHWCSWHHMC (Every word)
CGHSWMC (Key words)
Benefits: Works best for short quotes and where the
acronym makes a meaningful word.
Drawbacks: Not ideal for long quotes.
Good for: People able to recall words easily.
Acronyms

6. Rote / Repetition
Benefits: Easy to understand and complete.
Drawbacks: It can be time consuming.
Good for: Students who learn through doing and repetition.
There are 4
different methods
to apply this
strategy.

7. Rote / Repetition – Method 1:
Repetitive Writing.
Benefits: Easy to
understand and complete,
can engage short term
memory.
Drawbacks: It can be time
consuming.
Good for: Students who
learn through doing and
repetition.

8. Rote / Repetition –
Method 2: Audio recall.
Benefits: Engages the audio processing section of your brain.
Drawbacks: It does not require active processing of the information
Good for: Students who spend a lot of time travelling.

9. Rote / Repetition – Method 3: Digital
Audio Dictation.Benefits: Engages the audio processing section of your brain.
Drawbacks: It does not require active processing of the information.
Good for: Students who have difficulty recalling written information.

10. Rote / Repetition – Method 4: Write
and Check.
Benefits: Encourages accuracy and precision.
Drawbacks: Does not form any associations between prior knowledge.
Good for: Students who like to practice their short term memory and recall.

11. Narrative
• Benefits: Good to connect ideas to characters and their role within the story.
• Drawbacks: Can require additional information to recall rather than the original
plot.
• Good for: Students who like stories and narratives.

12. Imagery
• Benefits: Great for artistic students and visual learners.
• Drawbacks: Takes time to sketch and draw, often does not connect to other
concepts and ideas for retrieval.
• Good for: Quotes that have symbolic language or imagery built.

13. “Memory
Palace”
You will need:
• Sketch of house / home or somewhere else you know
well
• Locations, people or objects that you can tie to quotes.
• Some quotes
• Benefits: Links your personal world with
the world of the text, can be a physical
thing, taps into spatial memory.
• Drawbacks: Adds another layer of mental
work to your memorisation.
• Good for: Visual and physical learners
with strong spatial skills.

14. Select some quotes
• A good rule of thumb is 4 per text.
• These quotes should be ‘Flex quotes’,
quotes that relate to multiple themes of
the text.

15. Select items or pieces of furniture
that relate to the quote.
The connection between the item
and the quote needs only to make
sense to you personally.

16. Choose a place and
plot a route
This is the route you will follow when
you are rehearsing or recalling the key
quotes from your “memory palace”.

17. Point 1

18. Point 2

19. Point 3

20. Entry 4

21. Entry 5

22. Entry 6

23. Conclusion
• Rank the strategies from the one
that you found most effective to the
one that you found least effective.
• Success Criteria: I will be able to
narrow down the six strategies to
those that I am most able to use
effectively and that connect with me
personally.